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COMMISSION — SURCHARGE-FREE ROAMING PHONE USE LIMITED TO 90 DAYS: When news broke in 2015 that the EU had finally agreed to ban mobile roaming charges in Europe (effective from 2017), many assumed they’d be able to travel around the EU using mobile phones like at home. Now the Commission has shared detailed draft rules of how the new rules will operate in practice, and a “fair usage” clause will mean relying on the old system for 275 days a year.

Say what? Don’t try keeping your normal mobile number while on an Erasmus student exchange in Europe, for example, because you’ll only be allowed to use it for 90 days a year while abroad without roaming surcharges. And don’t think about using your phone on a five-week vacation: You can only take advantage of the better prices for 30 consecutive days. However, workers who live in one country and work across the border in another, say Luxembourg and Belgium, wouldn’t be subject to the limits as long as they use their home network daily.

If you do go beyond the limits, surcharges would be capped at 4 cents per minute for calls, 1 cent per SMS and 0.85 cents per MB. “The Commission is setting the bar too low … and does not amount to end roaming in the EU,” said Johannes Kleis, a spokesperson for BEUC, the consumer advocacy group. FT | POLITICO Pro Tech | The Commission’s fair use policy

VESTAGER TO MAKE THE ROUNDS IN US: Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager will make her next visit to the U.S. in two weeks, for what is virtually an annual pilgrimage to the Fordham University Competition Law Institute’s annual antitrust conference. She will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Lew, among others.

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VIKTOR ORBÁN’S VISION OF A BIGGER, LOOSER EUROPE: Lili Bayer explains that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wants strong borders and strong sovereignty, but also new members in the union, like Serbia, and a joint European military. “To characterize Orbán as anti-Europe would be misleading. While he’s a populist and a skeptic, the prime minister has never called for a referendum on the country’s membership — and is unlikely to do so since the EU remains quite popular within Hungary.” http://politi.co/2bPqWBf

COUNCIL …

TUSK KEEPING BUSY THIS WEEK: After returning from China, Tusk is continuing his consultations with the EU’s 27 leaders (not the U.K.) ahead of the Bratislava informal summit, with phone calls with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis before a visit to Dublin to meet with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on Wednesday. Then it’s on to Sweden and the Baltics, a Thursday meeting with Theresa May in London, followed by Latvia’s Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis in Riga. http://bit.ly/2cdJFGk

ITALY SAYS BRING ON TWO-SPEED EUROPE: Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s foreign minister, said: “I believe that today’s EU at 28 can contain a smaller circle that shares the single currency, the Schengen treaty and especially a better coordination on defense. A group of seven to 12 European countries that could have a stronger level of integration. Italy will fight for this new kind of EU.” ANSA: http://bit.ly/2c66sm4

EU DEFENSE COORDINATION PLANS INCHING FORWARD: La Repubblica reports Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is pushing for more defense cooperation, including an idea to exempt defense equipment manufacturers from paying VAT, and applying EU research grants to the sector. Similar thinking is part of a EU defense action plan from the Commission, due by the end of 2016. A stumbling block: According to article 41.2 of the EU treaties, the budget cannot be used for military expenses. Gianluca di Feo: http://bit.ly/2bZT3tp

LIVE DRONE DEMONSTRATION: The European Aviation Safety Agency will from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today present the Prototype Regulation on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Also at the event, a live demonstration of drone collision avoidance technology. More here: http://bit.ly/2c3lirb

DIESELGATE COMMITTEE ACCUSED OF PROTECTING MEPs: Attempts to haul MEPs Bernd Lange and Matthias Groote, both German Socialists, before the Dieselgate inquiry have been postponed. They are of interest to the investigating MEPs because they helped draft heavily criticized legislation on defeat devices. Hans-Olaf Henkel, an ECR MEP on the committee, says the Socialists are being protected by their colleagues. “You cannot give MEPs preferential treatment. They have to be seen like other witnesses from the industry,” Henkel said.

CONTROVERSIAL MALTESE COURT OF AUDITOR CANDIDATE SUPPORTED: MEPs backed Leo Brincat, Malta’s nominee for the European Court of Auditors, by just two votes in the committee vote on his candidacy. Brincat defended his support for former cabinet colleague, Konrad Mizzi, who was named in the Panama Papers. “I considered resigning, but if one resigns in Malta, they would be a hero for a day. However ultimately one would end up in the wilderness,” he said. The Parliament’s plenary must now approve the committee recommendation. http://bit.ly/2cmDTix

GEORGIA VISA DEAL APPROVED; KOSOVO IN LIMBO: MEPs in committee voted 25-24 to support the Kosovo deal, but rejected Tanja Fajon as Parliament’s negotiator on the details. http://bit.ly/2bSaTDU

TALKING SHOP AGREES TO CREATE NEW TALKING SHOP: The EU, the United States, China and other world powers have pledged to create a new global forum to examine and report back in one year on the problem of global excess steel capacity. Donald Tusk’s G20 press statement here: http://bit.ly/2cdKbnA

DÉJA VU — JUNCKER CLAIMS TAX WIN AT G20, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY A BROKEN RECORD: Playbook was interested to see Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker claim a win in the form of the G20 committing to work towards a “fair and modern international tax system.” On closer inspection, the commitment sounds a lot like similar pledges made in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In fact, the G20 has committed to more detailed changes in the past. Compare for yourself here …

2013: “Profits should be taxed where economic activities deriving the profits are performed and where value is created.” http://bit.ly/2cdQ980

2014: “We are taking actions to ensure the fairness of the international tax system and to secure countries’ revenue bases. Profits should be taxed where economic activities deriving the profits are performed and where value is created.” http://bit.ly/2cdRn31

2015: “To reach a globally fair and modern international tax system … we are progressing towards enhancing the transparency of our tax systems and we reaffirm our previous commitments.” http://bit.ly/2cdPXFC

— No holiday bonus for the EU institutions: While criticism ratios dropped in August, overall coverage fell by more, meaning no summer love for the EU. http://politi.co/2c1kenH

STATE OF THE UNION — HOW EUROPEANS SAW EU IN AUGUST: Stephan Shakespeare from YouGov told the DLDeurope conference in Brussels yesterday there is majority opposition to a “closer union” in nine of 12 countries surveyed by his company this month. There is “overwhelming pessimism” about the future of the EU among citizens, Shakespeare said.

TRADE — BUSINESS STILL BACKS TTIP: Seventeen big and small European business associations have reiterated their support for the TTIP trade pact. http://wp.me/a4MXoN-1RLe

AGRICULTURE — PARTYING LIKE IT’S 1996: Agricultural policy bigwigs are gathered in Cork, Ireland, 20 years after a conference there produced the Cork Declaration, a 10-point plan for guiding rural policy. An updated declaration is expected. The program: http://bit.ly/2bRjq6m, and the 1996 Cork Declaration: http://bit.ly/2bRjZwX

MIGRATION — CHAOS IN CALAIS: Freight drivers blockaded the main road leading to the port of Calais on Monday, demanding French authorities shut down a nearby migrant camp known as “the Jungle.” Truckers want to force the government to more quickly address what they say are increasingly violent roadside attacks and rising human and economic costs associated with stowaways trying to get to the U.K. More from Joshua Posaner: http://politi.co/2cmyRCJ

THE BREXIT BRIEF …

SINGLE MARKET INDICATIONS FROM DAVIS: U.K. Minister for Brexit David Davis told the House of Commons “we want to have access to the single market. We don’t need to be a member of it to do it.” The Guardian | POLITICO

BREXIT SCALPS …

Richard Howitt, a long-serving MEP from East of England, will leave the European Parliament later this year to become head of the International Integrated Reporting Council, a corporate responsibility campaign group.

Martin Roth, the German-born director of the V&A Museum in London will leave his post, partly out of frustration at Brexit. http://bit.ly/2cBGjhS

BREXIT AND TECH: Peter Mandelson’s strategy firm Global Counsel has called Brexit “the biggest economic demerger since the Second World War” and told the DLD conference in Brussels that handling the tech fallout will be among the trickiest minefields to navigate. Stephen Adams, partner at Global Counsel, noted that when Britain leaves, the typical liberal bloc of votes at summits and other Council meetings would be cut in half. That means there would no longer be a reliable liberal blocking minority on many issues considered by the Council.

FRANCE — MACRON’S STRATEGY: FORCE HOLLANDE TO GIVE UP. Emmanuel Macron is “dishonest,” “a traitor,” a “deserter” and “political monster,” “a felon” whose aim is “to destroy the Socialist party.” And that’s just according to the Socialist politicians whose camp he belonged to. Macron is a man with fans but no party base. If he is to become French president, Macron needs Hollande out of the way so he can step into the void. But he can’t afford to dispose of Hollande directly because it would alienate more people in the only political camp he has belonged to. Pierre Briançon: http://politi.co/2bMO3ru

ITALY — THE NEW, INCLUSIVE RENZI: Italian PM Matteo Renzi is changing his political approach in the aftermath of the country’s recent earthquake, L’Espresso reports. He no longer wants to be divisive and arrogant, but instead inclusive. He has resumed speaking to trade unions and appointed Vasco Errani, who belongs to the internal opposition in his Democratic Party, to lead reconstruction efforts. “From demolition man to reconstructing man,” writes L’Espresso. http://bit.ly/2cnhNg0

GREECE — ALEXIS TSIPRAS, ESCAPOLOGIST: The young left-wing leader of Greece has delivered virtually none of his promises from his election in January 2015. Can he salvage his reputation? “The Greek prime minister and his team are hard at work publicizing a meeting of southern European leaders in Athens on September 9, to which François Hollande has accepted an invitation,” reports Yiannis Baboulias. “The idea is to form a ‘southern front’ on the two big issues still rocking the EU: refugees and the financial crisis. But the meeting has another goal: Tsipras needs to show he still has international clout.” http://politi.co/2cnU2EE

ROMANIA — PUTTING ECONOMY FIRST: PM Dacian Cioloș, accompanied by an entourage, flew economy class to Germany for an official meeting this week despite being offered an upgrade to business. He was perhaps seeking to highlight his humility after an incident involving the Senate President, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, who was accused of line-jumping to renew his drivers’ license. http://bit.ly/2cdqkVp

THE BALKANS — LEADERS USE NATIONALIST RHETORIC TO WIN VOTES: Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian leaders have spent the summer exchanging insults in “an unpleasant flashback to the rhetoric of the Yugoslav war years.” Sasa Dragojlo has more: http://bit.ly/2cdObV4

ENLARGEMENT — EU AUDITORS URGE MONTENEGRIN AUTHORITIES TO IMPLEMENT REFORMS: Montenegro has been negotiating its entry into the EU since 2012, with the benefit of €500 million in EU funding since 2007. Here is auditor Hans Gustaf Wessberg’s report on how the money was spent: http://wp.me/a4MXoN-1ROe

RUSSIA — POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN CZECH REPUBLIC: A new report concludes Russia’s long-term goal is a Czech exit from the EU, and the Kremlin is working with influencers such as Czech President Miloš Zeman to achieve this. The report: http://bit.ly/2cmxjZH. Analysis here: http://bit.ly/2cmyrML

RUSSIA — GOVERNMENT CLAMPS DOWN ON LEVADA: “The Russian government is cracking down on Levada Center, the country’s only independent pollster, in a sign of Moscow’s growing nervousness about parliamentary elections just two weeks away,” the FT reports. http://on.ft.com/2bTDGp9

US — OBAMA CANCELS MEETING WITH PHILIPPINES LEADER: The White House announced Barack Obama would no longer attend a meeting with the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, after an expletive-filled rant directed at the U.S. president on Monday. Duterte had warned Obama not to ask him about the more than 2,000 extrajudicial killings reported in his country, threatening: “Son of a b–ch, I will swear at you in that forum.” http://politi.co/2bZiHjf

CLINTON SAYS PUTIN IS TRYING TO GET TRUMP ELECTED: In her first press conference in 275 days, Hillary Clinton on Monday expressed “a very serious” concern about Russia’s apparent tampering with the U.S. election, implying Vladimir Putin and the “adversarial foreign power” he governs are actively trying to elect Donald Trump. http://politi.co/2bP6j3x

BRUSSELS CORNER …

PARTY DU JOUR: The Burda Media Group set the standard for this season’s la rentrée party circuit with its gathering at Kwint. The Veuve Clicquot flowed, the food was well-received and you couldn’t move an inch without bumping into a German, Germanophile or digital powerbroker.

CHANGING ROLES: Aura Salla will join the European Political Strategy Center on the top floors of the Berlaymont as director of communications and outreach. She leaves Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen’s team, where she shepherded communications on the EU’s Investment Plan.

USEFUL RESOURCE: Find all the CVs of Commission directors general and their deputies here: http://bit.ly/2bLVKOu. H/t Simon Taylor

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